Wag lets empty school shut

ONE of three schools in Wales due to stay open despite having no pupils will now be shutting earlier than planned.

ONE of three schools in Wales due to stay open despite having no pupils will now be shutting earlier than planned.

Ceredigion Council has announced that Mydroilyn Primary School near Llanarth will officially close on September 1 this year after the Assembly Government agreed to a modification of the original statutory proposal for the school’s closure on January 1, 2011.

Two other schools in Wales are due to remain open without pupils: Ysgol Abergynolwyn near Tywyn in Gwynedd and Capel Iwan Primary, near Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire, which is staying open even though its 12 pupils left in July.

Capel Iwan has been told by local education officials that it must be ready to open in the autumn.

Its £110,000 budget includes a headteacher, caretaker and dinner lady, as well as heating and lighting costs.

Carmarthenshire Council said it had no option but to follow the Assembly Government’s statutory consultation process before it could shut the school, a process that could take up to 12 months.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews was outspoken in his criticism of the local council for the problem which he described as “bonkers”.

He said: “If I had the powers, I would tell them to close it.”

Mr Andrews said the council should have begun the closure process much earlier but the authority said it had followed procedures correctly.

Ceredigion Council had confirmed earlier this month that Mydroilyn Primary School would have no pupils between the start of the new term in September 2010 and the new calendar year commencing January 1, 2011.

The council said in a statement that the unusual circumstances arose after it decided earlier this year, to propose closure of the school from next year.

The statement said: “In accordance with the set legal procedures, a closure notice was published in the local press on March 9, 2010 giving objectors a two-month period in which to object to the proposal.

“Nobody did object so there has been no need for Ceredigion County Council to refer any objections to the Welsh Assembly Government for its determination.

“In the interim, however, parents decided they might as well introduce their children to alternative schools in September 2010, rather than wait until January 2011.

“Staff employed at Mydroilyn’s primary school have also, in the interim, secured employment elsewhere.

“The financial implications of the January 1, 2010 closure would have been relatively minimal.

“Agreement to an earlier closure by the Welsh Assembly Government now means Ceredigion County Council can proceed with implementing its policy on considering the future use of the redundant school buildings sooner, rather than later.”

Ceredigion Council’s director of education and community services, J Eifion Evans, said: “Ceredigion had actually followed all the correct procedures in proposing closure of Mydroilyn school with nobody having objected to that proposal.

“It is therefore very much appreciated that the Welsh Assembly Government has seen fit to quickly agree to bring forward the effective closure date.”

A spokesman for Gwynedd council said governors, pupils, parents and staff of Ysgol Abergynolwyn had requested a move to nearby Ysgol Bryncrug from September.

“This process of formal statutory consultation came to an end on July 30 and the matter will now be considered by councillors in the autumn for a decision,” he said.

Gwynne Woolridge, the executive member of Carmarthen Council responsible for education, said that the head of Capel Iwan would be employed by the authority until December but would be transferred during that time to other duties.

He said: “It is very difficult and it does cost us money but this is the legal situation and we have to work within the law.”

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